


Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat

by SadBlackPanda



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec isn't sure who to believe, Established Relationship, Luke is the best detective ever, M/M, Magnus is proud to be a warlock, Murder Mystery, Original Character(s), Police Procedural, but only in minor roles, learning how to be together, struggles bringing people together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:52:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7663912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadBlackPanda/pseuds/SadBlackPanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Luke stumbles upon a murder of a mundane, where a young warlock is the prime suspect, Alec and Magnus find themselves in a difficult situation. With Magnus siding and protecting his fellow warlock and friend, who he believes was set up, Alec is conflicted between his loyalty to the Shadowhunters and Clave, and following his heart. Luke's walking on thin ice, trying not to have the whole case blowing up in his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first fic in the Shadowhunters fandom. 
> 
> At the start of this summer, I decided to watch this show I had vaguely heard of. I was supposed to be just killing time watching a show on Netflix based on YA bookseries. What I didn't know, is that I was about to meet the most perfect character ever (Magnus Bane) and his boyfriend (Alec Lightwood) who I could identify with more than I should. I got beautiful portrayals of female friendships, more POC characters than there was on any other show I was watching, and a ship to go down with, because the decent to hell is easy for a fangirl. 
> 
> This fic will be purely based on the TV show, sorta like my fantasy season 2. I haven't read the books and probably never will. All possible mistakes and typos are mine. Kudos and comments are very much appreciated! I want to know what you think about my first dabble into this new fandom!

It was supposed to be just another day at work, just another murder - and yes, he feels horrible thinking like that, but that’s his life - Luke thinks as he sits down at his desk at the precinct. A young woman, mundane, probably in her early twenties, had washed out on the shore this morning. An older couple on their morning walk had found the body. Victim’s been dead for at least three days. Body was badly mutilated, burned and almost every bone broken. Passion as the most likely motive. And the current evidence points out that the most likely suspect is a Downworlder.

Of course, no one else on the precinct but Luke and Alaric know that they suspect a Downworlder did this. For everyone else it’s just another lover spurned who took things to the extreme. But for him and Alaric this is something much more grave. A Downworlder killing a mundane would be devastating to the already fragile relations between them and Shadowhunters. A huge violation like this against the Accords could start a war. And since this is now an official police case, the Clave  _ will _ find out, it’s just a matter of time. 

And while he might not be a Shadowhunter anymore (a pang of betrayal), Luke still has contacts that might help him to make sure that Clave won’t hear about this before he’s sure who he is dealing with. He  _ needs _ to be sure.

* * *

 

It was supposed to be just another day at work, just another consultation job. A warlock had gotten their hands on a priceless magical amulet and now needed Magnus’ help to get it to work or something, the woman had been very vague. The amulet’s ancient, said to be one of the first amulets to grant invincibility. The woman had already consulted every other warlock she knew, which, first of all: rude. To come to Magnus as a last resort, when he’s obviously the only one in New York with enough power to get it to work, maybe in the whole world, after all the slaughter Valentine has done (a pang of grief). Second… 

But Magnus never gets to finish that thought, because the other warlock hands him the amulet and Magnus instantly recognizes it. He’s seen the amulet. In the possessions of a young warlock.

Sawyer. Gregory Sawyer.

He snatches the amulet from the woman, holds it his hands, feeling the magic pulsating from the totem, it’s magic reminding him of a red ruby, but Magnus buries those memories deep inside and remembers to forget. Because this stone is the color of  _ his _ eyes, and Magnus smiles.

And yes, the amulet is the same he’s seen before, the magic feels familiar beneath Magnus’ careful fingertips. He remembers Sawyer showing the charm to him six years ago. There’s no reason why it wouldn’t still be in the warlocks possession. Magnus turns to face the woman, an easy smile on his face and his mind full of questions.

* * *

 

It was supposed to be just another day at work, just another demon hunt. A shapeshifter, of course, almost as if to make this whole mission more difficult. Not because Alec’s afraid a shapeshifter could ever fool him by pretending to be his sister or anyone else he knows, a certain someone with bronze skin, perfect hair and glitter around his eyes. No, they’re just annoying to track. Usually you just have to trust your Sight and follow the bodies. But this demon’s being unusually non-homicidal so there’s no bodies to follow, only his one lead. A meeting place.

Alec’s been working on this case for the past week and he’s not going to ignore his first real lead, and he especially won’t let his siblings and their pet mundane-turned-Shadowhunter (who’s actually pretty cool, but don’t tell her that) ruin this for him. After everything that happened at the wedding, Alec wants to prove to everyone that he deserves to lead the New York Institute. But now he’s doing this for himself, not for his parents or the Clave or anyone else, just for himself. Because he  _ is _ the best possible choice to lead.

Which is why Alec can’t help but groan when he sees Izzy, Jace and Clary approaching him disapproval visible on their faces. And Izzy looks almost like their Mom with an expression like that (a pang of hurt).

And no, Alec didn’t go alone just to annoy his friends. This was supposed to be a pure recon mission. Yes, he did bring his bow and arrows, but only to be used in an emergency. The shapeshifter Alec’s tracking is just a courier, like so many shapeshifters. The most action Alec expected was maybe interrogating the demon.

But when Clary’s phone starts blaring it’s ringtone, Alec fears his cover’s blown.

* * *

 

“My dear Margot, how on Earth did you acquire such an unique totem of this kind?” 

Magnus’ words are dripping with snark, but she doesn’t seem to realize, her mind obviously occupied. And it’s not like Magnus hates Margot Eustis. Yes, she might be on the more conservative side and they might disagree when it comes to politics and such, but when you’re immortal, you realize that holding a grudge can be exhausting, unless the other person really deserves it. And Margot is too insignificant to hold a grudge to.

And right now Magnus has more important things on his mind.

“It… suddenly came into my possession a few days ago. Through a friend who’d like to stay anonymous.”

She’s scarce with her words for a warlock known for heated debates. Nervously, she fiddles the diamond ring on her ring finger, burying her hands in her black pencil skirt. Always dressed for business.

“Yes, I’m well aware that when it comes to Gregory, he prefers to remain unnoticed and unknown. Which is why I’m so surprised he’d ever part with this amulet. He never quite trusted glamours,” Magnus sing-songs, and upon seeing Margot’s face fall, a cocky smile creeps on his lips. Oh, how he loves being right. He takes a few steps towards Margot and hands her back the amulet.

“If he truly gave this to you, you know it works. I’m not really sure why you’d come all the way here, when I’m sure anyone with at least minor knowledge of magic could tell you that it works. So I ask you: why are you really here?”

Margot takes the amulet with a deep sigh. She must’ve known Magnus would ask her this. Why is she so nervous? Did he do something..?

“Don’t tell me he -”

“No! Nothing like that,” Margot exclaims, cutting Magnus off, “He just… needed to get rid of the amulet. He asked me to destroy it, but to do that would require immense power. But I don’t think destroying this is the answer. It just needs some… safekeeping.”

She’s serious. She’s desperate. Something’s happened, and she’s not telling everything.

Magnus has always been aware of Margot and Gregory’s relationship. For the barely a century old warlock the over two century old woman has always been a mother-figure. The two are from completely different worlds, two different generations. They had nothing in common, but somehow they hit it off. Margot would protect Gregory with her life, and Gregory would do the same in the blink of an eye. Magnus once asked about the nature of their relationship from Gregory, and the only answer he got, was that it was something greater.

And Magnus thinks of  _ his _ hazel eyes, and for a moment he forgets that he’s not alone.

Of course, Margot and Gregory’s relationship has always been platonic, seeing that the woman has been married for over 150 years, and Magnus has never heard rumors of an affair. Gregory just found Margot when he needed a family the most and she complied. Magnus can identify with that.

Which makes Magnus worried that she’s here  _ now _ .

For someone born with the potential for magic, Gregory has never been quite happy to find out that he’s a warlock. He doesn’t like the idea of immortality. He isn’t that powerful, never that good with magic. For a Downworlder, he spent awful a lot of time among the mundanes. The last Magnus had heard, he has a mundane girlfriend. Is this why he was getting rid of the amulet? He’s done hiding? If it’s this simple, the nervous wrinkles on Margot’s face seem rather excessive.

She obviously won’t tell Magnus anything more, and he doesn’t have any leverage over her to make her come clean. Magnus hopes that this all is just him reading things too deeply and there’s actually nothing to worry about. He gives Margot a wide smile.

“I guess I’ll do the young man and you a favor and take care of the totem. And no need to worry. I’d never destroy anything with such historical significance. I’ll just… make the amulet defective again.”

Margot lets out a sigh of relief and stands up to shake Magnus’ hand.

“Thank you, so much. You’ve… You’ve really helped us both,” she says, tears in her eyes. And at that moment, Magnus feels for her. He sees a mother doing anything she can for her son. And to have such a person - a person you’d do anything for - in your life is truly… quite magical.

For a second Magnus can hear a familiar, warm chuckle in the back of his mind. He needs to text Alec as soon as he’s done here.

Margot leaves the amulet on the coffee table, grabs her pitch black suit jacket from the leather sofa and walks up to the heavy doors. She conjures up a purple portal, and before she’s out of it, Magnus calls after her.

“And next time, dear Margot, just come straight to me. Despite our differences you’re always welcome to my apartment.”

Margot only answers with a small nod and disappears. Always so business-like.

Magnus grabs his phone with a smile on his face that just keeps on growing,

* * *

Luckily, the demon doesn’t hear the cellphone. The meeting place is a busy harbor, the weather is windy and the waves are clashing in the background. But if the demon can’t hear them, that means Alec can’t hear the demon and whoever they’ll be meeting either. That could end up being problematic. There are runes for long-range hearing, but with so many distractions it might not work. He needs to get closer.

“Alec, are you listening?” Jace asks, waving his hand in front of Alec’s face. Clary is still on the phone, with Izzy on her side, writing everything down. Must be an important call.

“Who’s she talking to?”

“Luke called about some case. Hopefully nothing serious,” Jace tells Alec, murmuring the last part. But Alec heard every word. If it’s about a case, it’ll definitely be something serious. Alec lets out a deep sigh.

“I don’t have time for this. I’ve been tracking this shapeshifter for a week, and they’re right here, right now. And I don’t need any more distractions.”

“Alec, you just left the Institute without a word. We were worried.”

“I appreciate your concern, but as you can see I’m fine. Plus, the Clave approved this mission.”

“As a solo mission?”

“I’m only doing some recon. This shapeshifter has been smuggling Downworlder blood all over New York, but he’s only a courier. And they’re having a meeting with their potential contact, maybe even the supplier. I’m here to investigate.”

“And you brought your bow to investigate?”

“Possibly interrogate.”

“ _ And _ based on your rambling, you’re here alone against Clave’s orders.”

Alec tries to argue, but the words won’t leave his mouth, leaving him gaping.

Because Jace is right. Clave did approve the mission, but they think the whole team is on this. And Alec meant to tell the whole team  _ after _ he had gathered some tangible evidence. He didn’t want to bother them with a rumor. They’ve been busy enough.

But for the last few weeks things have been normal. Or as normal as life can be for a Shadowhunter. Alec would even claim that things have been boring. Jace would probably agree. Maybe that’s why they’re here right now. Alec could just imagine it; Jace noticing Alec slipping away, forcing Clary and Izzy to accompany him. No… that’s not what happened. They probably noticed  _ Jace _ leaving the Institute and followed him. Clary probably gave him an earful. Izzy probably could tell Jace was going after Alec. And now they are all here, on the mission -

“Hey Alec, wasn’t your demon supposed to meet with their contact?” Jace asks, disrupting Alec’s train of thought.

“Yes, or possibly their supplier,” Alec says while gathering his thoughts.

“Well, whichever it is, he’s here now,” Jace tells him, pointing at a young man. Clary and Izzy join the two of them.

“My dear brother, you know how much I enjoy tracking down shapeshifters,” Izzy smiles down at Alec and winks at Clary, “Remember Clary, the first time we met.”

Clary lets out a chuckle. “How could I ever forget.”

“Yes, you screwed everything up, and now you guys are doing it all over again. I need to get closer to take a photo of the contact and to eavesdrop. You guys can… do what you do best,” Alec orders them, picking up his cellphone from his jeans pockets. One message, the name on the screen making Alec blush slightly.

“Being awesome while looking fabulous?” Izzy asks with a wide smile on her red lips.

“Sounds like a plan,” Alec agrees, his own small smile playing on his lips.

“Spoken like a true leader!” Jace exclaims, giving Alec a clap on his shoulders.

* * *

When he called Clary, she was in the middle of something, but wrote down all the details and promised to meet with Luke after his shift. But right now it was all in Luke’s hands to keep things from blowing up.

He keeps hoping that this is all for nothing. That this is all just because of a normal new yorker who snapped at his girlfriend. It would certainly make Luke’s job a lot easier. Mundanes killing each other is normal and handling that is easy: gather evidence, pinpoint the motive and make it all stand in court. But if a Downworlder, one of  _ his _ people, is behind this all, it would include politics. Also, covering this all up, because let’s face it: a Downworlder could never go to prison. _ Never _ .

Last time Simon helped him, but if the department found out a dead man was walking among them, and that he wasn’t the only undead, well… it wouldn’t be pretty. So asking for Simon to take the blame is off the list.

“We should first determine our prime suspect  _ before _ asking help from the vampires,” Alaric tells him from behind his table.

“Was I thinking out loud?” Luke asks with a playful smirk on his face.

“No, but you made that face.”

“The face of considering working with Santiago?”

“The face of possibly working with people you don’t like.”

And Luke can’t help but to laugh at that. Even though it’s not quite accurate. It’s true that the werewolves are not best friends with the vampires, but after all the efforts (and with the help of some Shadowhunters, Luke smiles) the werewolf/vampire relations are doing better than ever. Well, that doesn’t mean much because those relations were non-existent a couple of months ago, but Luke’s decided to stay positive.

“Hopefully it’s not an ugly face,” Luke laughs, “But you’re right. I might be overreacting. We need to start with identifying our victim, and let the morgue and lab do their job. Tell them I want their initial reports before the end of shift.”

Alaric gives him a nod and stands up.

“And Alaric,” Luke says lowering his voice, “Best to try to keep this low-key.”

Luke gives Alaric a look of importance, and Alaric gets it. And no, it’s not because Luke’s the alpha. It’s because they’re partners. Partners who’ve been through a lot. His close relationship with Alaric has always made being the pack leader awkward. They’ve been partners for years, equals. Being a boss to one of your closest friends is… Even after all these months it still feels _ weird _ .

After Luke took over the New York pack, he and Alaric had sat down and talked about it. Luke promised that being the pack leader would never interfere with their friendship, and Alaric had laughed and told Luke he was being crazy and over-thinking things. And that’s how Alaric became Luke’s second in command.

Luke turns to face his computer screen and opens the file of their current Jane Doe. Upon finding her, she didn’t have any I.D. on her and her fingerprints were not in the system. They could only hope the dental records would help them to identify the woman. For now all Luke could do was to go through the ever growing list of missing people.

During his break Luke texts Jocelyn that he misses her and to tell of his day. He decides to wait before telling her about the Jane Doe and how she was possibly murdered by a Downworlder. You never know who could be reading their messages.

Ever since she woke up, Jocelyn had spend her days at the Institute recovering. Luke had offered to take her to his place, but Clave wanted to keep her close in case of Valentine would come after her. But Luke knows better. They want to keep her close in case she knows something or is working with Valentine, which is idiotic to even consider that, and he and Clary has been very vocal about that, but there’s nothing they could do. Clary’s still new to being a Shadowhunter, and the Clave only tolerates Luke because of his history and relationship with the Frays. The Clave had never acknowledged them as family, so Luke’s aware he’s walking on thin ice every time he visits the Institute.

Jocelyn answers him almost instantly, telling how boring her day has been. And for a minute Luke can forget all that’s happened today and just  _ breathe _ . He takes a picture of himself with his coffee and sends it to Jocelyn, who answers in kind, just without the coffee.

After seeing such beauty, it’s difficult to go back to work and being surrounded by pictures of dead bodies.

Half an hour before Luke’s shift ends, Alaric hands him a file.

“We found a match. Meet Diana Duncan, our victim.”

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thank you for reading! 
> 
> I'm not yet sure about my schedule, but I'll be aiming for weekly updates, so hopefully I'll see you soon!


End file.
